Here We Go Again: Phillies Go Down in Flames

I think I know why Phillies fans drink so much at games. Cliff Lee gave up the lead in the eighth and the Phillies could not comeback, losing 2-1 to the Dodgers on Tuesday night.

OH, CLIFF

-Cliff Lee basically had to be perfect tonight and for the most part, he was. Except for one lousy pitch. And that’s what this season has become. It has become a joke. It has become a season of needing one; one strike, one run, one more. Lee struck out 12 Dodgers, but allowed one mistake to Elian Herrera with two outs and two strikes in the eighth. That gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead and Phillies fans a sudden case of nausea.

-What else can you say about Cliff? He deserves better; he deserves wins. As Todd Zolecki pointed out on twitter, the Phillies have given Lee 16 total runs when he has been in the game in nine starts. Let that number sink in.

-Lee totaled 122 pitches and an absolutely obnoxious 92 strikes.

OFFENSE? WHAT OFFENSE

-Yet again, it was non-existent. I’m getting tired of writing the same things over and over again, really. You saw that they couldn’t get much going against Chad Billingsley throughout the game, and you know that from time to time, they’ll give you duds like this one. Where is that Chase Utley? Poor Lee.

-Hunter Pence actually came through with a runner on third and less than two outs. He knocked in the Phillies only run in the first inning, slapping a single through to left field, scoring Jimmy Rollins, who had led off with a double.

-Chad Billingsley was very good, nearly going step for step with Lee. He went six innings, giving up just the one run on six hits. He struck out one and walked one.

NOTES

-The Phillies still do not have a comeback after the eighth inning. For years, that used to be their forte. No longer.

Plaicdo Polanco got spiked on the hand by Matt Treanor on a sliding attempt in the eighth inning. He did stay in the game, but would be pinch-hit for in the ninth by Mike Fontenot. The last thing the Phillies need is another BS injury derailing a player.

-In Triple-A, Domonic Brown hit 2 home runs for Lehigh Valley on Tuesday night. Phillies could have used some of that.